Wine punch

Starburst

Arching gracefully in all directions, ‘Vera Jameson’ sedum displays juicy round leaves and stems topped with pink, star-shaped flowers. Mexican snowballs (Echeveria elegans) anchor the right side, young pups bunched up against mother plants. In back,
the nonsucculent Pelargonium sidoides catches the light on its silver leaves, echoing the color of the Echeveria.

Protip:Pelargonium sidoides is a favorite to mix with succulents. Its fuzzy, ruffled leaves and wandering habit transform any combo from rigid to loose.

Harvest gold hues

Planting ideas for garden pots

Splash of white

For a hint of spring on your patio, arrange several plants in a wide, low planter as you would in a garden bed ― layer by layer. Include pockets of green (grasses or ferns), bursts of color, and a soft carpet base (such as Irish moss).

Colors that complement

Designer Kirstin Erchinger of Santa Fe is a horticulturalist with a floral-design background. She starts with a plant she falls in love with, then selects companions that flatter it, not compete with it.

One-pot vegetable garden

Not everyone has the room or time for a big edible garden. But even if you’re limited to a lone container, you can still enjoy a summer’s worth of homegrown produce for pasta, Gazpacho, and even garden-fresh Bloody Marys.

Compact lavenders

Dwarf lavenders, which stay under 2 feet tall, are compact alternatives to the common varieties that can grow to 4 feet or taller. They're particularly suitable for small beds, border edgings, even containers.

Unthirsty plants

Urn and succulents as patio table

Root succulents by putting them in an 18-inch-diameter urn filled to 6 ½ inches below the rim with potting soil, then center a 24-inch round of tempered glass ― sold as a tabletop ― on the rim. The mini-greenhouse doubles as a table for a lightly shaded patio.

Halloween in a pot

Create a Halloween garden with orange and black plants. Combine black foliage with orange blooms in pots of similar hues like ebony and persimmon. Then add some gnarly twigs ― like the pod-laden phormium stalks shown ― from your garden or a craft or floral supply shop among the plants.

Group pots

These pots, of different sizes but the same color, contain plants in shades that echo the garden's overall scheme. In the smallest pot, fiber optics plant mixes with heuchera, lamium, and cyclamen. In the one at left, nandina pops against lamium, cyclamen, and hellebore. The tallest pot holds fine-leafed rosemary, cordyline, cyclamen, and heuchera.

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39 of 58Rob D. Brodman

Patio snow

Fluffy white azaleas and hydrangeas piled in containers resemble snowballs. Forced into flower for the holidays, both plants are sold at nurseries, garden centers, and grocery stores, usually in 6-inch containers (www.hanabayflowers.com for store locations).

Kale in a container

Because these showy cabbage relatives tolerate cold weather and can hold their brilliant color all the way into spring, they're ideal for growing in pots to display on porches, patios, or beside entryways. They grow 1 to 2 feet tall.

Video: How to plant a container

Drip watering

A simple, automated drip-irrigation system, which applies water slowly and directly to roots, frees you from hand-watering and helps eliminate harmful fluctuations in soil moisture. Plants respond by growing full and lush.

Carefree container

Follow these simple steps to create your own self- watering (technical term: subirrigated) pot and come home to happy plants. A reservoir at the bottom allows more time between waterings, while an overflow hole prevents overwatering.

Start with a thin-walled, nonporous pot (at least 12 inches wide and 16 inches high) that has no drainage hole but will be easy to drill into—like the plastic ones shown here (Skörd planter, from $30;ikea.com). Drill a 1/4-inch- wide hole into its side, about 4 inches up from the bottom.

Take a smaller plastic pot— roughly 6 by 6 inches—and drill 1/4-inch-wide holes, a few inches apart, into the sides and bottom. Fill with potting soil, then center in the bottom of the large container. (If your large pot is wide, like the one shown above right, use two small pots.)

Cut a disc of sturdy plastic (we used the lid of an old storage bin) to fit securely in- side the large pot when sitting on top of the soil- filled one. Drill 1/4-inch holes, an inch apart, in the disc. Cut a 1-inch-wide hole near the disc’s edge, then place the disc on the pot, inside the large container.

Cut a length of 1-inch PVC pipe that’s slightly longer than the height of the large container. Cut the bottom of the pipe at an angle (so it won’t clog), and insert the pipe through the 1-inch hole in the disc. Push pipe as far into the big pot as it will go.

Set your plant on the plastic disc (next to the pipe). Fill in the space around it with potting soil, mixed with some controlled-release organic fertilizer, to 1 to 2 inches below the pot’s rim. (Don’t worry if some soil falls through to the reservoir below.)

Cover the top of the soil with plastic sheeting, cutting an X in it to let the plant through and tucking it down into the sides of the pot. Hide the plastic with a layer of rock or bark. Pour water down the pipe until it flows from the drainage hole. Refill as needed, likely once or twice a week.

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“Tidepool”

Echeverias and other small succulents, planted in a blue bowl, look like underwater creatures.

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45 of 58Thomas J. Story

Mood & attitude

“This is the It Plant of the moment,” says San Francisco nursery owner Flora Grubb of the icy blue powder-covered Echeveria cante, pictured at bottom left. “I’ve never seen a plant as iridescent as this one.” Here, the succulent shimmers against moody dark foliage—‘Cheryl’s Shadow’ geranium and ‘Black Adder’ phormium, which add structure in back. The 16-inch-wide container is made of lightweight plastic.

46 of 58Thomas J. Story

Fireworks, contained

A variegated Aloe arborescens with subtle stripes appears to explode above Sedum ‘Lemon Coral’ (provenwinners.com) in this 14-inch-high zinc container. “It’s the best sedum I’ve grown,” says Jarrod Baumann, who designed the planting. “It stays full and lush and doesn’t look ratty, even after it’s done blooming.”

Bigger, better

A potted succulent may be pretty on its own, but group it with bromeliads and cactus, and it has presence. Whether it’s on a porch or is part of a large yard, a vignette of containers “condenses beauty in a small space,” says Oakland landscape designer Joshua Stenzel. In his work, he often mixes quirky drought-tolerant plants from Australia and the Southwest. The results are dazzling compositions that need only the occasional watering.

“One thing I’ve learned with small-space designs is to skip the dainty little pots and go for big and bold,” says Stenzel. Make an impact by including one tall planting and repeating one strong color in either the foliage or the pots.

Bold texture

“I almost always include something lacy, something hanging, and something architectural,” says Oakland landscape designer Joshua Stenzel. Then “throw in one thing that’s unexpected,” such as the Sempervivum succulents dripping out of a low pot here.

Color coordinated

Start with a plant or pot you love and let it lead the rest of the design. For this quartet, akland landscape designer Joshua Stenzel first chose earthy ceramic pots, then selected plants in a complementary palette of coral and pale green.

Vibrant color

This orange pot filled with a Savour Greek basil tree adds a fun vibrance, making it a garden spotlight.

52 of 58Erin Kunkel

Silver lining

If those fuzzy leaves in the rear look familiar, it’s because they’re lamb’s ears (Stachys), but a new variety: ‘Bello Grigio’, with slender, silver leaves that almost glow. At its base, Hebe pimeleoides ‘Quicksilver’ contrasts with its black branches and Jurassic-looking leaves. In a single pot (foreground, right), the spines of an Agave potatorum ‘Kissho Kan’ catch the light. At left, ‘Vera Jameson’ sedum stretches itself in all directions, offering pink flowers at the tips.

Protip: Use one type of plant per container for a modern, color-blocked look.

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53 of 58Erin Kunkel

Beauty and the beast

‘Elijah Blue’ fescue and similarly colored Pelargonium sidoides look sweet and wispy, while their evil third holds court at right. ‘Grape Jelly’ dyckia forms a picture-perfect rosette of rigid purple foliage, but the leaves of this terrestrial bromeliad are armed
with vicious teeth. Watch out—this combo is killer.

Protip: Use more dyckias. They handle drought in stride and, every summer, send up tall stalks of bright orange or yellow blooms that hummingbirds find irresistible.

54 of 58Erin Kunkel

Perfect strangers

Highlighting its red-tinged margins and sharp tips, a single ‘Blue Glow’ agave tucks up against a lush backdrop of soft plants. In back (from left to right), variegated Sedum lineare ‘Sea Urchin’ cascades over the rim; ‘Vera Jameson’ sedum shows off its pink blooms; and purple spurge (Euphorbia dulcis ‘Chameleon’) displays whorls of leaves on either side of an herbal-scented Pelargonium ‘Oldbury Duet’.

Protip: When filling a large footprint, consider using multiple pots. They’re easier to move around, and you can play with their placement as planting evolves.

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55 of 58Erin Kunkel

Terrestrial tide pool

A handful of Aeonium arboreum 'Zwartkop'—dark purple rosettes on sticks—grow upward from the back of the pot. Next to them, silver woolly bush (Adenathos sericea) has a kelp-like quality, appearing to undulate as if growing in the sea. In the foreground, variegated Helichrysum peiolare, dark purple ‘Obsidian’ Heuchera, and a hybrid Echeveria balance colors and shapes from front to back.

Succulent containers: Mini meadow (0316)

Succulent stars, including a blooming Echeveria hybrid and a trailing Cotelydon hybrid, nestle between mounds of soft ‘Elijah Blue’ fescue and bright green thrift (Armeria maritima ‘Armada White’). At far right, the silver heart-shaped leaves of a Pelargonium sidoides spill over the edge of the planter.

Protip: Incorporate thrift into more of your plantings. The unsung plant is a playful and sturdy champ, forming tufty evergreen mounds topped with lollipop blooms in white, pink, or red.

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57 of 58Erin Kunkel

The big chill

In the center of the container, a hybrid Echeveria sits like an unfolding lotus, but one with far more staying power than the fleeting flower. Small, almost iridescent ghost plant (Graptopetalum paraguayense) echoes the shape and color of the larger succulent. At right, purple-leafed heuchera picks up the Echeveria’s pink edges. In back, feathery dusty miller (Senecio cineraria) offers some stature and fuzz to the mix.

Protip: Adding height, like the dusty miller, offers visual contrast, plus it creates dappled light for more sun-sensitive plants growing in its shadow.

58 of 58Erin Kunkel

Jolly green giant

Spanning 18 inches across, Aeonium ‘Mint Saucer’ gives this combo some serious heft, like an oversized flower, but one that never needs to be deadheaded (an Aeonium lives a few years before sending up a stalk of yellow flowers and dying). Standing above it is velvety Plectranthus forsteri 'Aureus Variegatus', with limey green margins. Trailing at right is Rhipsalis teres heteroclada, a succulent with pencil-like stems.

Pro tip: The old container recipe—thriller, filler, spiller—still stands the test of time.